Holder and dispenser for rolled sheet material



sept. 15, 1942.

A. C. GILLANDERS ETAL HOLDER AND DISPENSER FORROLLED` SHEET MATERIAL Filed Feb. .19, 1940 AMHA/a5? Y HMH/A4 .0465577 /rrafP/r/fx lll Patented Sept. 15, 1942 HOLDER AND DISPENSER FOR ROLLED SHEET MATERIAL Alexander C. Gillanders and Harry H. Daggctt, Los Angeles, Calif., assignors to Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 19, 1940, Serial No. 319,578

5 Claims.

Our invention relates to a dispenser for rolled sheet material and has particular reference to a holder and dispenser for surgical adhesive tape,

Adhesive tape of the type commonly employed by physicians and surgeons for securing surgical dressings in place ordinarily comprises a cloth backing upon which is placed a very adhesive layer such as the well known Zinc oxide preparations. This tape is usually supplied to physicians, surgeons, hospitals and the like in the form of long sheets which are rolled upon a cardboard or paper cylinder.

Considerable difficulty is experienced in removing the desired amount of such tape since the adhesive coating on the one side of the tape adheres very strongly to the next lower layer upon which it is wound so that it is very diicult to unroll from the roll of tape the desired amount of such material. Furthermore, the cloth backing employed is usually a very strong material so that it is very difcult to tear from the roll the desired amount of material, recourse being had to scissors or similar sh'earing devices for separating from the roll of material the desired length which has been unrolled therefrom. Difficulty is also experienced as a result of the tendency of the adhesive material to adhere to the scissors or shears so that the cutting off operation is made very difficult. Considerable diculty is also eX- perienced in keeping such rolls of adhesive tape free from dust, dirt, and the like since it is common practice to leave these rolls lying on instrument tables and the like in order that they may be ready at hand.

It is accordingly an object of our invention to provide a holder for rolled sheet material in which means is provided for cutting the sheet when any desired length has been removed from the roll.

It is also an object of our invention to provide a holder and dispenser of the character set forth in the preceding paragraph which includes an enclosure for enclosing the roll of sheet material to exclude dust and dirt therefrom and which also includes a readily openable cover to give access to the rolled material.

It is a still further object of our invention to provide a holder and dispenser of th'e character set forth in the preceding paragraphs which is particularly designed for use with surgical adhesive tape which includes a cutter for cutting off any desired length of tape which has been removed from the roll, together with' a means for holding the cut end of the material to permit ready removal from the roll of the next desired quantity.

It is also an object of our invention to provide a holder and dispenser of the character set forth in the preceding paragraphs which includes a removable supporting bar upon Which' the rolled material may be placed so as to facilitate the loading and unloading of the holder.

It is a still further object of our invention to provide a device of the character set forth hereinbefore which is neat and attractive in appearance and which may be manufactured at a low cost.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent from a study of the following specifications, read in connection with th'e accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of holder and dispenser of our invention shown with the cover in the open position;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along the line 1li-II of Fig. 1 showing the relative positions of parts with the cover in the closed position;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the cover in the open position and the manner in which thecutter is mounted to effect a cutting of material removed from the roll;

Fig. 4 is a (fragmentary view with parts shown in section to illustrate the details of construction employed in the mounting of the material supporting roller; and

Fig 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken substantially along the line V--V of Fig. 3 showing the details of construction of the cutter portion of our invention.

Referring to the drawing, we have illustrated in Fig. lthe preferred embodiment of our invention as including a supporting member or rod l upon which may be supported, as by threading thereover, rolls 2 of sheet material, such as adhesive tape. The rod I may be supported in any desired position by employing bracket members engaged with the opposite ends of the rod I. In the form of the device illustrated herein, we employ also a mounting base 3 provided with apertures 4 and 5 permitting the use of screws or similar attaching means for securing the device to a wall or other supporting surface, the base 3 constituting a support for bracket members 6 and 'l which may also have circular portions 8 and 9 forming end closures for a housing l0, the housing I0 preferably having a cylindrical lshape concentrically disposed relative to the rod I.

The supporting rod I is preferably in the form of a light weight metal tubing as indicated in Fig. 4 and is made readily removable from the housing III to permit the threading thereon of the rolls 2 of adhesive tape by employing a construction such as that illustrated in Fig. 4. As shown therein opposite ends of the tubing I are fitted with plugs or closures II to which is ailixed, as by soldering or welding, short spindle members I2. These members are adapted to be received within a bore formed in a sleeve I3, the sleeve member I3 being secured to-th'e bracket members 6 and 'I as by means of threads I4 andvlocked in place by lock nuts I5.

Each of the sleeve members I3 is preferably closed at its outer end as indicated at I6 and a compression spring I'I interposed between this end and the end of the spindle members I2. This constructionpermits the tubing I to be forced to one side against the pressure of one of the springs I .1 a suiiicient distance to bring the opposite spindle member I2 out of the sleeve within which it isreceived so. as to permit th'e end thus freed to be movedV out of alignment with the sleeve andthe entire assembly removed from the housing.

The housing- I is also preferably fitted with afreadily openable closure member I8 which may comprise a partially cylindrical section having sufficient arcuate length to enclose an open side I9 of the housing I 0. Opposite ends of the closurel I8 are provided with radial flange members whichl are in turn bored to receive the sleeves I3 so that the closure I8 may be moved in a pivotal fashion about the center of the housing Il)` from an open position such as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 to aI closed position such as that illustrated in Fig. 2. Ready opening and closing of this closurev member may be facilitated by bending a portion thereof outwardly from the surface of its cylindrical shape to provide a handle portion.

Inasmuch as some sheet materials, such as surgical adhesive tape, must be cut in order to` separate an. unrolledl portion from the body of rolled material, we prefer to provide a means for readily cutting off such a removed portion. For this; purpose we employ a cutter supporting bar or rail 2|. which is.- also carried by the bracketsA 6 and 1v and disposed substantially parallel to the rod I. In the formof device shown herein, the rail 2| comprises a rolled edge which extendsalong one longitudinal edge of the opening I9. This rolled edge may be constructed along the lines indicated in Figs. 2 and 3 wherein the edge of. the material of the housing I0 is show-nbent inwardly and back upon itself toprovide a substantially cylindrical bead extending fullflengthof the` edge 2 I.

Between the under surface of this bead and the inner surface of the housing IIJ we provide anangle supporting member 22 which is securely attached to the body portion of the housing I0 and to the under surface of the bead as by welding. or soldering. The upper surface of the edge or'bead 2I is then slit for its full length to provide aA slot or kerf 23 in which may be received a cutter or knife 24:. The cutter or knife is preferably disposed" in a vertical plane and prov-idedI with front and rear cutting edges 25 and 26;. Thisknife is adapted to be moved along the length of the slot 23, it' being guided in such movement by'a substantially cylindrical guiding member 21 received within the bore formed by the rolled bead 2I. A handle 28 may be securely aflixed to the upper protruding end of the cutter blade 24 so that the blade may be easily slid along the slot 23 from one end of the housing to the other, the handle 28 is preferably formed with laterally extending wings 28a, the under surfaces of which are curved to lie close to the upper surface of the bead 2|. These wings 28a serve to prevent accidental contact with the cutter and also to press the tape being cut down upon the bead while the tape is being severed by the cutting blade.

It will thus be seen that rolled material may be pulled from the roll 2 and the end thereof brought downwardly to bring the material into contact with the top portion or ledge formed by the rolled bead 2I. The cutter 24 may then be moved along its slot 23 through use of the handle 28 to sever that portion of the material which is disposed outside of the housing I0 from that which is attached to the roll 2. When the material comprising the rolled material 2 has an adhesive under surface such as is encountered in adhesive tape, the end thereof which is inltegral with the rolled material 2 willy remain on the inner portion or ledge of the bead 2I in theV manner illustrated in Fig. 2, thus permitting ready access to that material whenever it is desired to remove more from the role 2. Furthermore with this type of tape, which is known to be difficult to cut, the adhesive side clings to bead 2|, upon both sides. of the slot 23 whereby the tape isin effect supported by the bead under tension thus, greatly facilitating cutting of the tape.

Inasmuch as continued use of the cutter 2.4 tends` to eventually dull the cutting edges 25 and 26 thereof we prefer tomake provision for the removal` of the cutter so that the cutting` edges may be re-sharpened. This may be readily accomplished by cutting olf one end 29 of the bead 2I inY the manner illustrated in Fig. l so that the cutter 24 may be moved beyond the end of the slot 23v to. permit bodily removal of the cutter 2-4, guiding cylinder 21 and handle 28 fromthe-apparatus.

From the foregoing it will be observed that we have provided a holder and dispenser for rolled sheet material which may be manufactured. in a neat. andattractive form and that the apparatus is provided with a readily openable cover so that the rolled sheet material may bev kept covered at all times and protected from dust, dirt, and the like.

It will be further observed that the device ofY our invention provides for the ready cutting of removed portions of said material from the roll on which it is contained and that the cutting portions of the cutting device are completely enclosed so that accidental injury to persons using the device is obviated.

It will be furthermore observed that the type of construction illustrated permits the ready removal of the rolls from the holder and ready insertion of new rolls of material thereinto and that the type of cutter mounting which is employed operates to hold the ends of rolls of adhesive material in such position that they may be readily grasped for the purpose of removing additional amounts of such material from the rolls.

While we have shown and described the preferred embodiment of our invention, we do not desire to be limited to any of the details of construction shown or described herein, except as dened in the appended claims.

We claim:

l. In a holder for rolled sheet material, the combination of: a roll supporting rod for removably receiving a roll of said sheet material; a tubular rail member having a longitudinally extending slot therein; bracket means extending transversely of said rail member at opposite ends thereof for supporting said rail member in substantially parallel relation to said rod; a guiding member slidably mounted in said tubular member; a cutter secured to said guiding member and extending through said slot, whereby movement of said cutter along said slot operates to cut said material unrolled from said roll and extended across said slot; and means for permitting removal of said cutter from said rail member comprising a notch in said tubular rail member intersecting said slot and having width 'f and length dimensions sufficient to pass said guiding member.

2. In a holder for rolled sheet material, the combination of: a roll supporting rod for removably receiving a roll of said sheet material; a tubular rail member having a longitudinally extending slot therein; means mounting said rail member in substantially parallel relation to said rod; a guiding member slidably mounted in said tubular member; a cutter secured to said guiding member and extending through said slot, whereby a portion of said rolled material unrolled from said roll and extended across said slot may be cut from the remainder of said roll by moving said guiding member and cutter along said rail and across said material; handle means for so moving said cutter secured to the other end thereof and extending beyond said cutter; and wings extended laterally from each side of said handle and having under surfaces curved to lie in closely spaced parallelism to said tubular rail member, whereby said handle and wings serve to surround said cutter and prevent accidental injury thereon.

3. In a holder for rolled sheet material coated .f

on one side with an adhesive composition, the combination of a roll supporting rod for removably receiving a roll of said sheet material; a tubular rail member having a longitudinally extending slot therein; means mounting said rail member in substantially parallel relation to said rod; a guiding member slidably mounted in said tubular member; a cutter secured to said guiding member and extending through said slot, whereby a portion of said rolled material unrolled from said roll and extended across said slot with the adhesively coated side facing said rail member may be out from the remainder of lsaid roll by moving said guiding member and cutter along said rail and across said material;

and means carried by the upper end of said cutter for pressing said material into contact with said rail as said cutter is moved therealong, whereby the severed portion of said material is temporarily adhesively xed to the rail member at one side of said slot and whereby the end of said roll of material adheres t0 said rail member at the other side of said slot.

4. In a holder for rolled pressure-sensitive adhesive tape, the combination of: a substantially cylindrical sheet material housing having an open portion extending substantially the full length thereof; an arcuate cover member mounted for pivotal movement for closing said opening; end walls closing the ends of said housing; a removable roll supporting means mounted within said housing for supporting a roll of material therein; a substantially tubular rail positioned at and along the lower edge of the opening and immediately adjacent said housing, said tubular rail having a slot extending substantially the full length thereof; and cutting means mounted for movement in said slot and arranged to cut material extending thereacross, and adhering to said rail upon each side of said slot, said cutting means having a guiding member within said tubular rail and a handle without said rail for moving said cutting means throughout substantially the full length of said slot.

5. In a holder for rolled pressure-sensitive adhesive tape, the combination of a substantially closed housing having an unobstructed interior of a size and shape to receive rolls of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape, said housing having a longitudinal opening extending substantially the full length of the housing, a movable cover for closing said longitudinal opening, a removable supporting means for supporting rolls of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape; and a tubular edge member on the housing and dening one longitudinal edge of said opening and providing a narrow ledge portion to which the adhesive tape will adhere and also having a slot extending substantially throughout its length immediately adjacent said ledge, said housing, removable supporting means, and tubular edge member being so related that a roll of adhesive tape having a radius equal to the distance from the roll support to said tubular member can be placed on said support and received in said housing; and cutting means mounted for movement along said tubular edge member to cut material extending across and adhering to said ledge, said cutting means comprising a guiding member within said tubular edge member, a handle means without said edge member, and a cutter secured to said handle and to said guiding member and operating through said slot.

ALEXANDER C. GILLANDERS HARRY H. DAGGETT. 

